XMen: Hypnotized
by Rhiannon Faylinn
Summary: AU I blended elements from the comics, the movie, and the show fom the 90's. Who knows, might throw in a some elements from X-Men:Evolution. A new character comes to the. Only she's not a mutant. Right? So what exactly is she? On hold indefinatly.
1. Prolouge

Summary: New characters are introduced in this story. A new character appears at the School for the Gifted. She claims to want peace between humans and mutants. What can Prof. X do, but take her in. The thing is, she isn't a mutant. Right? So why can't anyone read her mind? And why is she so gaurded? Who is she and can she really be trusted?  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing found in the Marvel comics. Most of the characters here are the creations of the wonderful imagination of the talented Stan Lee and other comic book writers. Any character not associated with Marvel is mine.  
  
A/N: No X-Men as of yet. But Spider-Man has a guest spot in this first part.  
  
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Prolouge  
  
A Few Years Ago  
  
She chewed nervously on the nail of her index finger. She was scared. She'd never been on her own before. Practically everything was done for her. How would she survive out there? That wasn't some peaceful city where she could walk down the street alone and not have to worry about her safety. That was New York City out there.  
  
She shook her head to clear some of the nervousness away, with very little success. She wouldn't back out now. She'd been planning this for about a year now. Maybe it was actually longer, she thought. Long before she actually set her plan into action, she'd begun saving money. Perhaps she'd subconciously known she would have to find a way out eventually. Just two and a half years ago, she never would have believed she'd be doing this. True, she hadn't planned to stay in this house forever, but she hadn't thought she'd be leaving so soon.  
  
The backpack was checked yet again. Yup. She had everything she absolutely needed. And the very few personal things she refused to leave behind. Three photographs in particular she couldn't leave behind. One was of her mother, another was of her, at a younger age, at science camp with a very dear friend, and the last was of her as a small child and a smiling woman with gentle eyes. Her nanny.  
  
She brought nothing with her that reminded her of him. With any luck, she would never have to see him, or her 'boyfriend,' ever again. Not face to face anyway. Unfortunatly, her father was constantly trying to get on television, sometimes succeeding. As time went on, she knew those success's would become more frequent. There were too many people like him out there.  
  
She stood in the middle of her large bedroom and looked around. This may be the last time she ever saw it. She had grown up here. If it wasn't for her mother, she would have spent practically her whole life in this room. That was actually still pretty much the case. And most of the time outside of the room was still spent on the grounds. Her father was so paranoid that she might run into one of those "freaks" on the street. Her mother worried that she would be mentally scarred from not being around people her age. That was the only reason she was allowed to go out ocassionally and to go to science camp one summer.  
  
Without another backwards glance, she walked out of the room and quietly closed the door.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~  
  
She couldn't believe she had pulled it off. Here she was, out in the city. Unfortunatly, people were looking for her. There was a package of hair dye in her bag, but she hadn't gotten to use it yet. Hopefully, no one would recognize her. The plan had been to get the hell out of the city, but there were a few things she had to do first. And the news broadcasts of her dissapearance had forced her to stay as far from crowds as she could. Her father had realized she was gone sooner than she thought he would.  
  
It was cold. It was going to start raining any minute. She could smell it in the air. Every hotel would be on the look-out for her. Looks like she was stuck on the streets for the night.  
  
As she walked, she mentally cursed her father. She had left at four in the morning and he'd somehow managed to get the word out that she was missing before she could get a hotel room. She didn't notice the group in one of the alleys she'd passed. They waited a moment and then began to follow her.  
  
What am I going to do? she asked herself, blissfully unaware of the danger she was in. The entire state is looking for me. By tomorrow, the entire country in going to have heard about me.  
  
The next thing she knew, some guy had his arm around her. "Hey baby. What's a girl like you doing, all alone, in a place like this?"  
  
She tried to push him away, but he held on and pushed her into another alley. His friends followed, smiling wickedly. This was going to be easy.  
  
"Let go of me!" she shouted.  
  
It started to rain.  
  
"Relax, baby. This ain't going to hurt. Well," he added, grinning, " not too much anyway." He pressed her against the wall and reached for the snap of her jeans.  
  
In a panic now, she brought her knee up. She screamed for help as he doubled over in pain. His friends hurried to silence her. She struggled against them. The very basic self defense she knew wasn't as effective as she would have liked. The rain came down harder and harder as they pinned her to the wall. She fought frantically to break free. One of them reached for her shirt and started to lift the hem.  
  
"No!" said the first one, recovering from his injury. "She's mine."  
  
The other two didn't look happy, but refrained from doing anything but hold her as still as possible. The first one got right up in her face and glared at her. "Think that was funny, you little bitch?" he growled.  
  
She swallowed hard. She knew exactly what they wanted to do to her. The rain blended with the tears that started running down her face. She couldn't let it happen. She shrieked again for help as they dragged her to the dead end in the alley, away from the street where people might hear her. They didn't cover her mouth because they liked to hear the screams.  
  
The one she had kneed pressed her against the wall and started to take off her jacket. The other two watched from a couple of feet away. They couldn't wait for their turns.  
  
Thwip!  
  
One of them was yanked back. He was so surprised, he couldn't even yell as he flew back towards the alley entrance and landed in a pile of garbage. The other one had turned the second his buddy had literally taken flight. No sooner had his friend touched the garbage pile that what looked like a white rope attatched itself to the front of his shirt. Then, he himself went flying to land on top of the other guy.  
  
The last guy turned. "Huh?" He saw his friends lying in a heap, groaning. Suddenly, he felt something touch his shoulders and he was yanked upwards. He shrieked girlishly when he came face to face with a masked figure clad in red and blue.  
  
"Somehow, I get the impression that the lady doesn't enjoy your company," said the masked figure.  
  
"Spider-Man!" The thug took a swing at him.  
  
"The one and only." He shot more webbing at the guy. Within seconds, he was wrapped in a cocoon up to his chin. Spider-Man carefully hung him, upside down, from a fire escape. Then he went down to catch the other two. Of course, they tried to fight him. He sighed inwardly. It was over in about a minute. They hung from the same fire escape as the first one. "Well, that takes care of that."  
  
During the short fight, the girl had stepped forward to see if she was seeing right. Sure enough, that was Spider-Man coming to her rescue. A vague thought ran through her head. I knew he wasn't the creep Jameson makes him out to be.  
  
He turned to check on the girl they'd been attacking. She was just standing there, staring back at him with a bewildered look. Her hair was plastered to her head with rain, as were her clothes. He squinted behind the mask. Was that...? He took a couple of slow steps forward. His eyes widened in surprise. Kassy? "Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
She nodded. "Thanks to you." She gave him a grateful look.  
  
"Hey, you're the girl that's all over the news. The one everyone's looking for."  
  
Panic filled her eyes.  
  
"What are you doing here? You should be home."  
  
She shook her head vehemently. "I can't go back there," she squeaked.  
  
He frowned. Why wouldn't she want to go home? "Your parents are worried about you. Let me take you-"  
  
She shook her head again, cutting him off. "I can't go back there," she said again, louder and in a normal tone this time. "It's my father. He's crazy! I don't want to be a part of his agenda. I won't!"  
  
"Okay," he said slowly. He had moved forward as she spoke. So had she. They were only about two feet apart now. "The news reports say you may have been kidnapped or brainwashed."  
  
"No. That's not true. No one kidnapped me. I ran away. To get away from my father. He's gone off the deep end. He wants to rid the world of all the 'freaks and monsters contaminating our world.' And he's trying to arrange a marriage for me to a guy just like him." She looked at him pleadingly. "I can't go back there. Please!"  
  
He frowned even more. He knew enough about her father. He had seen him on tv and had been told all about him. It wasn't too hard to understand why she had run away from a man like that. Still, it was too dangerous for her out in the real world. "I think it would be better if you went home. You're young. It's not safe for you out here."  
  
"I'll manage," she insisted.  
  
"You've been on your own less than twenty-four hours and look what happened. You're only sixteen. It's too dangerous for you to be on your own," he reasoned.  
  
She shook her head and went to retrieve her bag from the ground where it had fallen when those guys had started trying to strip her. She shuddered at the thought of what would have happened had Spider-Man not been there. "You don't understand." She turned back to him. "You can't know what it's like to know your father is willing to kill innocent people just because they're different from most people," she lifted the pack onto her shoulders, "and then have the nerve to say he's doing them, and the world, a favor by putting them out of their misery."  
  
Willing to kill? Had he gone that far? He knew her father was an intolerant bastard, but to kill? "Kill people? How do you know he's willing to go that far?"  
  
"Because he's already done it!"  
  
His eyes widened. "If that's true, you need to go to the police."  
  
"I can't. They'll never believe me. I can't prove it, but I know he's done it. Please, just let me go and never tell anyone you saw me."  
  
He bit his lip. If what she told him had any truth to it, he had no desire to send her back to that. But, if he left her on the streets to fend for herself, he might as well be signing her death warrent. "All the same, you have about two years until you're eighteen. If you can hold out until then..."  
  
"It might be too late for me to get out by then! If I could wait that long, I would have."  
  
"Do you at least have somewhere to go? A friend? A relative?"  
  
She shook her head. "I don't have any other family besides my parents. I don't want to involve any of my friends in this." The few that I have anyway, she thought bitterly.  
  
He sighed heavily. "Then I can't just let you go."  
  
She hung her head. "I understand. You're just trying to help."  
  
He stepped forward and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Poor kid, he thought. I hope I'm doing the right thing.  
  
She swung the length of pipe she had found on the ground next to her bag. It connected with his head. He staggered, mostly out of being caught off guard. She quickly swung it before he could recover. His shoulder hit the wall next to him. She hit him once more, on the back of the head, trying to knock him out. When he fell to the ground, she threw the pipe down and ran.  
  
"I'm sorry!" she yelled over her shoulder. Then she dissapeared around the corner.  
  
It took him a few seconds to get his bearings. He got up, rubbing the back of his throbbing head. A groan of pain made it past his lips. "So much for gratitude," he groused. A few seconds later, he shot out a webline and headed for the rooftops to see if he could still catch her. He went in the direction she had, but didn't see her anywhere. Damn! He kept looking for a while longer. Nothing. Finally, he stopped on the edge of a building.  
  
"First, she thanks me for saving her, then she tells me she understands my reasons for taking her home, then she clobbers me! I just don't get women! Ugh. I guess she *really* didn't want to go back there." He was all set to start looking for her again when he heard an alarm go off. A couple of streets was a bank and that was where it seemed to be coming from. He made a frusterated noise before heading in that direction. "I hope she'll be alright. Kassy's a good kid. Smart too. If she says her father is up to no good, I believe her. But without a way to back up her story, there's really nothing I can do. I'll just have to keep my eyes open."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Kassy watched him go and breathed a shakey sigh of relief. He had been so close. She was so lucky he hadn't seen her hiding in the next alley. The guilt of what she'd done to him, especially after he had saved her, was heavy. He was just trying to do what he felt was best for her at the moment. It wasn't like he wouldn't be fine after popping some painkillers, but still.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Spider-Man," she whispered as she watched him go. "I didn't want to do it, but you wouldn't let me go. I hope you can understand that. Thank you for what you did for me." She sighed. "I hope I get the chance to tell you how sorry I am someday."  
  
She pulled her jacket tight around her and started walking. The subways shouldn't be too crowded now. She could take one to the edge of the city. If she didn't get out of this city now, she might never be able to.  
  
Kassy managed to leave the city limits that night. She didn't look back as she went.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
A few days later, an ad appeared in the Daily Bugle personal ads.  
  
S.M. Arachnid, I apologize again for what happened the other night. You didn't give me much of a choice. I hope you understand that I can't go back there. Please forgive me. Thank you for helping me.  
  
Love, K.C.  
  
"Well, what do you know?" mumbled Spider-Man as he hung upside down on the wall of a building, reading the paper. "Someone not only thanking Spider-Man, but apologizing for hitting him. What next? A celebrity shows up at my apartment with a million dollar check?" He began to web-sling across the city. He knew exactly who that ad was from.  
  
"I really hope Kassy can make it on her own. If she doesn't, I'll never forgive myself for letting her get away."  
  
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I would appreciate feedback. If anything, please tell me if I should continue or not. Sorry the X-Men aren't there yet, but they'll come in soon enough. 


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own neither the X-Men nor Spider-Man. I also do not own the villans. I own Kassy and the other characters I will introduce. If I did own anything other than my new characters, I'd be filthy stinkin' rich. (Sighs wistfully) And I'm not making any money out of this, so there's really no point in suing me.  
  
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It had been so long since she'd been anywhere near here. This was probably a bad idea, but she'd had the strongest urge to come home. To New York. Besides, she wanted to see if it was true.  
  
The breeze gently tossed her dark hair a bit. During the nearly three years she had been travelling around the country, her hair had been about every color that hair could naturally be. And even a few colors that it couldn't naturally be. Not to mention the different lengths it had been. Now it was finally back to it's original color and length. She preferred it this way.  
  
Her face had changed a little, but not much. The thing that had changed the most were her eyes. They no longer resembled those of a deer. They had hardened where they had once been soft. The sparkle of childhood and innocence had left them the night she left this place the first time. She no longer looked frightened of the world, as well as curious. There was something about her that told people she was not someone you wanted to mess with. Even with dark shades covering those eyes, like now, she gave off an aura that made people stay away.  
  
Of course, some people didn't get that message. Like that guy she'd hitched a ride with last week. He had wanted 'payment' for his kindness. She'd told him to go to hell. So, he'd tried to force himself on her. A decision she had made him regret. He'd nearly wet his pants when she pulled out the switchblade she always carried and threatened to make sure he could never have sex, consenting or otherwise, again. The sniveling little weasle had begged for mercy. But she wasn't letting him off the hook that easily. Especially since she knew he had probably done it before and would try to do it again to some other girl who wasn't carrying a weapon. She wondered how many stitches he had needed to close up the slice on his cheek. It would leave a nasty scar, she knew. This way, he'd always have a reminder that there are women who would fight back.  
  
She wandered down the streets of the city. Three years. Had it really been that long? She'd moved around so much, it was hard to keep track of time. A few weeks here, a few weeks there. She never stayed in one place too long. She couldn't afford to. More than once, she'd almost been found out. The last thing she wanted was to be returned to her father. She did miss her mother, but, as far as she was concerned, it wasn't worth the risk of being trapped in her father's world again to contact her.  
  
People stared at the girl as she went by. She wore a pair of form-fitting black jeans, a dark top and a black jacket. There was an air of mystery about her. But also an air of danger. People stepped slightly to the side as they passed her, not wanting to touch her for some reason. Touches on the sidewalk, of course, were as inevitable in New York as traffic jams. Those who did touch her felt a strange chill, feeling the cold she exuded. Still, this was New York, and a moment later, they forgot all about her, going back to their usual worries and concerns. Back to their own lives.  
  
No one seemed to recognize her. She had expected as much. It had been three years, after all. People had moved on with their lives and forgotten all about the spoiled little rich girl who had dissapeared one night. The $50,000 reward her father had offered for her safe return, and had made the first year of her life on the run the hardest one, had long been forgotten. For that, she was grateful. But she still had a couple of cans of spray in hair color, in case of an emergency.  
  
There was a small crowd gathered in front of an electronics store watching a news broadcast. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she slowed to see what was up. Brown eyes narrowed and glared at the screen as she recognized the man being interviewed as one of her father's right-hand men. He was ranting about mutants. How they were dangerous and were contaminating the human race. She shook her head in disgust. "Idiot," she mumbled.  
  
"Hey what are you?" asked a voice. She turned her attention to the two guys about her age standing in front of her. "Some kind of mutie lover?"  
  
She must have said it louder than she thought. Oh, well. She'd dealt with morons like this before. "No," she answered, shaking her head. "Not a mutant lover. Just someone who knows what kind of misery a racist asshole like that," she nodded towards the screen, "can bring to a person's life. Now get out of my way." She roughly shoved one of them aside and, bumping the other's shoulder, walked past them, leaving them to stare dumbly after her.  
  
She wasn't really sure which way she was going. It didn't matter. Just as long as she never saw her father again, she didn't care where she was. Now, all she had to do was find out exactly how to get to her destination.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
At last! She seated herself in front of the open computer. She had been waiting for one to open up for half an hour now. Not surprising really. This was one of today's growing trends. Cyber Cafes. Places that served coffee and food while allowing you to surf the net. There weren't that many around. Yet. But with the cash the few around were pulling in, there was no doubt in her mind that they would become as easy to find as Starbucks.  
  
Why hadn't she just gone to the library, she wondered. It was less noisey. And there weren't muffin crumbs on the keyboards. But she'd been kind of hungry and the smell of coffee had led her to enter the moment she found the place. It was so crowded that she should've obeyed her first impulse and walked right back out. But *noo.* She figured that she might as well grab a latte and, since she was already here, might as well use one of the computers.  
  
She set aside her latte and her banana nut muffin and accessed the net. Okay, what was the name of the place she was looking for again? Excalibur? No. Xanthus? No. What was it? Xavier? She thought that was it. She typed it in and searched the name.  
  
To her surprise, the first thing to come up was not a school, but a man. Xavier, Charles. There was a picture of a bald man next to the name. Hey, I remember him, she thought to herself. He'd been on television a couple of times to speak about mutants. He believed they could co-exist peacfully with humans. She skimmed the information on him, comfirming who she thought him to be. She snorted. Yeah, sure. Humans and mutants could co-exist. If they could somehow get rid of all the people like her father first.  
  
She sighed heavily. Personally, she would love to see humans and mutants getting along. She also knew it would be a very looooong time before it happened. It didn't matter what all those bigots thought. Not all mutants were bad. Just like not all humans were bad. Unfortunately, the mutant terrorists who were making headlines and anti-mutant organizations were making it very difficult for people to realize that.  
  
She continued skimming until something caught her eye. Apparently, Charles Xavier ran a school. The Xavier School For The Gifted. "Bingo," she muttered with a smile. She typed it in and searched. She hit paydirt. An address and phone number. She quickly riffled through her bag until she found a pad of paper and a pencil. Glancing back and forth from the screen to the notepad, she copied the address and number. Then she ripped out the piece of paper and shoved it in her pocket.  
  
She happened to glance up as a few people walked in. Her eyes widened a bit. They were wearing F.O.H. shirts. Friends of humanity my ass, she thought. Not wanting to be anywhere near them, she calmly shoved the pad and pen back in the bag and closed the window on the screen. Trying to look as natural as possible, she stood and walked towards the door. After two steps, she stopped, turned back, and grabbed her coffee and muffin. Then, she was out the door.  
  
One of the guys in the F.O.H. shirts spotted her just as she was pushing the door open. "I'll be right back," he told his friends. He went to the door and pushed it open. He looked both ways, but the girl had dissapeared. He frowned and shrugged. She had looked vaugely familiar. Oh, well. He went back to join his friends.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
She found a park and sat down on a bench. There, she finished off her small meal and allowed herself to relax, somewhat at least, for a few minutes. After a while, she fished the paper out of her pocket.  
  
The Xavier School for the Gifted. She'd heard rumors about that place. Rumors that it was really a safe haven for mutants. What surprised her was that an organization like the F.O.H. hadn't attacked it. Then again, Charles Xavier was a very prominent citizen. Besides, what if the rumors weren't true? No one in the country would support the F.O.H. if they attacked a school that turned out to be full of normal people.  
  
1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY. That was over in Westchester. She rolled her eyes skyward. "It couldn't have been closer," she muttered. It wasn't really all that far. Less than an hour drive. But on foot... She supposed she could take a cab, but the money she had wouldn't last forever. A bus?  
  
After going to two different convenience stores, she found a bus schedual. She also bought a couple of sandwiches and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. She sipped from the bottle as she studied the schedual. She'd already missed the bus that would take her all the way to Salem Center. The next one wasn't for a few hours. She didn't want to stay in the city that long. She might be tempted to do something stupid, like look up some old friends. Well, *a* old friend. When she thought about it, most of the few people she had been friends with weren't really friends. Just contacts to the outside world. In fact, she'd never gotten the chance to know most of them very well because of the way her father had kept her cut off from the rest of the world. Some of those so-called friends had only wanted to be around her because she had money. When it came right down to it, there was only one that she really missed. And she didn't want to drag him into her screwed up life.  
  
Calmly, she waited for the bus that would at least take her into Westchester. Sure, she could've just walked there. God knows she'd walked farther distances, but it would be pretty late by the time she got there. Besides, she deserved a break from walking and hitchhiking every now and then, right? Impatiently, she looked at the cheap, but functional, watch she wore. Ten more minutes. She could handle ten more minutes. Growing anxious now, she shifted from one foot to the other. It was true that her chances of being recognized were slim, but they were still there. And, quite frankly, she didn't want to run into any more F.O.H. members. They sickened her.  
  
Finally, the bus got there. She climbed on, paid for the ride, and sat down near the back. Purposely, she sat in a seat that was right over the wheels, knowing most people avoided those seats at all costs, and settled in for the drive to Westchester.  
  
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Okay, still no X-men. In the next chapter. I promise, there will be actual X-Men in the next chapter, not just a mention of one. 


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: If I owned the X-men (or Spider-man, for that matter), this would be published in the comics.  
  
A/N: Okay, for those of you who are picky about accents being written into the story, tough break. It's just easier to not write it that way. Come on, you all know how Gambit and Rogue sound. I don't see the point in frusterating myself by writing something that they said, only to realize later that I forgot to do the accents and have to redo it. I'm sorry if it bugs you. ____________________________________________________________________________  
  
Remy LeBeau, also known as Gambit, and Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops, walked out of the Danger Room. Both were breathing hard and were a bit sore. And both needed showers to rid themselves of the sweat that drenched their bodies after two hours of training.  
  
"Good workout today, mon ami," commented Gambit.  
  
"Likewise," answered Cyclops.  
  
Wolverine came out of the same doors they had just gone through and roughly brushed past them. "Move it Gumbo and One-eye," he growled.  
  
Gambit's temper flared, as did Cyclops's, but they let him go. He was always in a bad mood anyway. Why should today be any different? And it was a little worse today because it was his turn to watch the security moniters. He hated that job. While everyone else tended to like having a little time to relax a bit, Wolverine hated to stay in one spot for too long.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~  
  
It was well after three by the time she found the place. And it was pretty hot out. Her jacket tied firmly around her waist, she approached the walls at the edge of the school grounds. It took her a few minutes to scale the brick wall, despite the fact that she was in reasonably good shape. Between the heat and the extra weight of her backpack (she refused to simply throw it over the wall before she climbed), it was not an easy task.  
  
When she was safely over the wall, she cautiously looked around. Not much security if this *was* a safe house for mutants. Or maybe she just couldn't see any of the security arrangments. Charles Xavier was a very rich man. He could easily afford a state of the art security system for his home/school. Hidden cameras, infered beams. The whole hog. It wouldn't have surprised her in the least to find them here. Silently and carefully, she started towards the mansion.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~  
  
Wolverine plopped down into the chair. He opened up his bottle of beer and fixed his eyes boredly on the moniters. He wasn't really supposed to be drinking on duty, but he didn't see how it was such a big issue. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd been full on drunk. His healing factor usually processed the alcohol before that could happen. It was diffucult for him to just get a buzz off of the stuff that lasted more than a couple of minutes at most.  
  
"Logan, you're not supossed to be drinking that in here."  
  
He turned to see Jubilation Lee giving him a reproachful look from the doorway. He shrugged. "What old Cyke and the Professor don't know won't hurt 'em."  
  
She shook her head and came in to sit down next to him. At least he wasn't smoking again. The Professor had finally gotten him to go outside when he wanted to smoke his cigars. It had taken some time and some rather interesting threats, but he had gotten him to start smoking outside.  
  
"What do you want kid?"  
  
She shrugged. "I was done with my homework. Figured you'd be bored."  
  
He grunted. There was nothing on the moniters. They just sat there for a few minutes.  
  
A flash of movement on one of the moniters caught his eye. Quickly he turned to it. Just in time to see whoever their uninvited guest was move off screen. Completely alert now, he switched his gaze to the screen that showed the images projected by the next camera. Soon enough a figure appeared on the screen.  
  
"Who's that?" asked Jubilee.  
  
"If I knew, I wouldn't be paying close attention," he answered. Observing the intruder, he realised that this girl, whoever she was, may very well be a threat. She moved smoothly and cautiously. She moved like a predator. "Let the others know we have a visitor." Then he quickly left the room.  
  
"Wolverine, where are you-? Ugh." He was already gone. Probably to confront whoever the person who wondered onto the property was. Sighing in exasperation, she contacted Cyclops.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~  
  
Wolverine moved stealthily and fast. Soon he had worked his way behind the girl. Making sure he stayed out of sight, he kept up with her. It wasn't hard. She was taking her time. Or so it seemed. He knew better. The way she kept alert and looked around told him she was being cautios.  
  
A tiny twig snapped under his foot. He mentally cursed and darted silently behind a tree as the girl stiffened. He was out of sight by the time she turned around. Hopefully she would think it was just a squirrel or something. Instictively he knew that wouldn't be the case. She was more alert than ever when she continued on. He grinned. He loved a challenge.  
  
Knowing Jubilee would have alerted the others by now, he decided he'd better hurry this up. It didn't take long for him to catch up with her, even though she'd quickened her pace a bit. The strong scent of adrenaline coming from her set his own adreniline running. Moving like a striking serpant, he grabbed her from behind.  
  
He hadn't expected her to react so quickly. Because he hadn't seen it coming, the elbow she drove into his gut sent him slightly off balance. She turned in his arms and kneed him. Then she took off running as he doubled over.  
  
Okay. Now he was mad. He took off after her. He dove at her, intending to tackle her, and was quite surprised when she spun out of the way. He hit the ground, rolled and leapt to his feet. Adrenaline and anticipation surged through him. He had expected a tiny challenge. Apparently, he had sorely misjudged the situation. This girl was much more of a challenge than he'd thought. But still nothing he couldn't handle.  
  
The man before her looked almost like an animal. And he was a damn good fighter. She could tell that just by his stance. Okay, so security wasn't lacking. She took on her own fighting stance, ready to defend herself if he attacked again. His eyes glinted when he realised she wasn't going down without a fight.  
  
"Oh, I love it when they play hard to get," he drawled with a smirk. He extended his claws. It was mostly for show. He didn't see any reason yet to use them. He was satisfied by the shocked look that crossed her features. He smelled the fresh surge of adrenaline in her body and it made him grin.  
  
He flew at her and she barely got out of the way this time. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen anyone move so fast or with such animalistic grace in all her life. However, now was *definately* not the time to admire the man's speed and agility. No sooner had she avoided him than he sprang at her again. As she continued to dodge him, it occured to her than he didn't want to kill her. Not just yet at least. If he did, he would just use those claws of his and be done with it. That didn't mean she was about to let him catch her.  
  
She caught him off guard with a kick to the stomach. It hurt. Damn it, it hurt. He'd taken hits from people twice her size. If he wasn't caught up in the fight, he would have acknoledged that he was impressed. She was putting up more of a fight than he had expected, even after acknowledging that she would be more of a challenge than he'd originally thought.  
  
After another minute or two, he managed to grab hold of her and pin her to a nearby tree. He kept one arm back, claws extended, just so she got the message that he was tired of fooling around. Smart too, he decided when she ceased her struggling.  
  
"Wolverine, enough!" They both turned their heads in the direction the voice had come from. Coming towards them was a group of people. In the lead was Cyclops. Following closely were Jean Grey, Rouge, Gambit, and Professor Xavier. Cyclops didn't look happy. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I was just checking out our uninvited guest here. There was a little confusion."  
  
"Confusion? Excuse me, but I believe you attacked me, claw boy," the girl spoke up, glaring at Wolverine.  
  
Wolverine raised a brow. Claw boy?  
  
"Logan, enough of this. Let her down," said Professor Xavier.  
  
Reluctantly, he did so. They glared at each other as her feet were allowed to touch the ground again.  
  
"Now, who are you?" asked the Professor. "And what are you doing here?"  
  
She gave him an appraising look. "Are you Charles Xavier?" she asked, even though she knew he was.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then I came here to see you, Professor Xavier."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________  
  
Okay, I finally finished this chapter. I apologize to me two (count 'em, TWO!) readers for taking forever. I finally got the X-Men into my X-Men fanfic. Aren't you proud? 


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